Alliance Party: Time To Bring Power Back Into Public Hands
The Alliance Party is calling for an immediate end to the profit-driven model of New Zealand’s electricity sector, as gentailers once again post massive profits while Kiwis face another round of punishing price hikes during a cost-of-living crisis.
Alliance Party Co-Leader Victor Billot says the latest news of soaring power prices is the inevitable result of the failed corporatisation and privatisation models of the 1980s and 90s, which prioritised dividends over engineering and affordable energy.
“Kiwi families are being treated like cash cows by an oligopoly of energy giants,” says Billot. “While households are forced to choose between heating and eating, these companies are cannibalising our high productivity for private profit, instead of investing in the long-term infrastructure we actually need”.
Mr Billot says New Zealand is currently in a serious policy-imposed recession that is exposing deep structural problems in our economy.
He says families are facing increased pressure as basic costs spiral out of control.
“While consumers struggle, excess profits remain rife in the sector.”
The Alliance highlights that since the corporatisation of state-owned assets began, the promised “market efficiencies” have failed to benefit the public.
“Cashflow that should have funded critical upgrades and solved the ‘dry-year problem’ has instead been drained into dividends for shareholders”.
The Alliance stands firm on its principle that the provision of electricity is a basic human right and should not be subject to market mechanisms, says Mr Billot.
“We don’t need more market tweaks or regulatory band-aids that the big companies just ignore or bypass,” Billot says.
“We need a total structural shift. Ownership is a political choice that shapes power and accountability. We choose the people”.
The Alliance Policy includes:
100% Public Ownership: Integrating electricity generating and supply companies under full public ownership and community control to operate strictly in the public interest.
Eliminating Market Mechanisms: Ending speculation by big business based on spot prices and removing the market models that drive up residential costs.
Affordability First: Controlling prices for residential consumers to ensure that electricity is a guaranteed, affordable service for all New Zealanders.
Strategic Investment: Committing to long-term planning for sustainable renewable energy sources and energy-efficient housing.
“It is time to take back what belongs to us,” says Billot.
“The energy system should serve the people, not the other way around. We will end, and in some cases reverse, the privatisation and corporatisation of core public assets and return the power to the people”.
